President Shimon Peres (R) with the visiting U.S. Vice President Joe Biden at the President's residence in JerusalemPhoto: EPA

There had been speculation Mr Biden would deliver a warning against Israel launching a unilateral military strike against Iran but instead he present a united front against Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

"There is no space between the United States and Israel when it comes to Israel's security," said Mr Biden. "For that reason, and many others, addressing Iran's nuclear programme has been one of our administration's priorities.

"We're determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and we're working with many countries around the world to convince Tehran to meet its international obligations and cease and desist."

In contrast to recent State Department criticism of Israeli actions in the West Bank and Gaza, the vice president went out of his way to praise Mr Netanyahu's partial freeze on West Bank settlement construction. He hailed his willingness to make "historically bold commitments" to reach peace with the Palestinians.

Mr Biden also welcomed the decision by Israeli and Palestinian leaders to resume indirect peace talks after more than a year of paralysis, leading to direct talks and "a two-state solution with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security". Mr Biden is due to meet Palestinian leaders in Ramallah on Wednesday.

"The best long-term guarantee for Israel's security is a comprehensive Middle East peace with the Palestinians, with the Syrians, with Lebanon and leading eventually to full and normalised relationships with the entire Arab world," he said.

Mr Netanyahu reaffirmed his commitment to peace with the Palestinians and called for "tough sanctions" against Iran.

"The stronger those sanctions are, the more likely it will be that the Iranian regime will have to choose between advancing its nuclear program and advancing the future of its own permanence," he said.

Mr Biden's short speech at Mr Netanyahu's official residence was long on expressions and body language aimed at pacifying Israelis feeling cold-shouldered by President Obama's failure to visit their country since he was elected. The two leaders referred to their long personal friendship and addressed each other as "my friend Joe" and "Bibi".

"It's been too long between visits here," said Mr Biden. "It is true that you and I have been friends a long, long time It's just quite frankly good to be back in your company and see you." The two men did not take questions in the carefully-choreographed appearance. The only glitch came when Mr Netanyahu came to present Mr Biden with a certificate to mark the planting of a grove of trees in Jerusalem in memory of the vice president's mother, only to discover the glass in the frame had shattered. The two leaders will be hoping that their alliance is less fragile.

Gaza, 2003

Reporting from Jerusalem

Matthew Kalman is the former editor in chief of THE JERUSALEM REPORT and a sought-after media commentator and public speaker. A correspondent and filmmaker based in Jerusalem since 1998, he has reported for TIME, Newsweek, the Boston Globe, London Sunday Times, USA Today, Toronto Globe & Mail, San Francisco Chronicle, New York Daily News, the Chronicle of Higher Education and the London Daily Mail.His television reporting includes PBS in the United States, Channel 4 News UK and CTV in Canada. He is a frequent contributor to radio news programmes in Canada and Britain.Matthew graduated from Cambridge University in 1983. He has an MA (Cantab) in History.He co-directed the documentary Circumcise Me: The Comedy of Yisrael Campbell which has been selected for dozens of film festivals and events across the US, Canada, Australia and Britain.Matthew can be reached at matthewkalman@gmail.com